Did Arizona’s universities take a collossal cut in their state funds because lawmakers were ticked off that ASU President Michael Crow DARED speak out against cuts?
Is it possible that the Republican-led Legislature is so petulant and so childish that it would cut things EVEN MORE to show Crow who was boss?
That has been my worry ever since I saw that lawmakers wanted even DEEPER cuts to the state’s three universities than Gov. Ducey originally proposed–he wanted a staggering $75 million hit, while lawmakers demanded even more pain at $104 million, eventually settling on $99 million in cuts to get enough votes to pass the budget.
Today’s Republic analysis of the vote proves my worries were true. The Republic notes: “Rep. T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge, said the hit to the universities was non-negotiable, especially after Arizona State University President Michel Crow blasted Ducey’s original $75 million cut. Things only got worse after that.”
What a horrible reality to the state of Arizona politics.
Dr. Crow was right to speak out on the devastation that will come to students with these cuts–the Board of Regents is actually thinking of suing the legislature because it’s violating the Arizona Constitution on its responsibility to the university system.
Dr. Crow was right to fight for students and faculty and the state’s economy–something no one in the statehouse or the governor’s office did.
And to verify that our university system was damaged so horribly because lawmakers were pissed off at Dr. Crow–that says something very ugly and stupid and infantile about Arizona.